A World Beyond
by mtk1970
Summary: Edward lives in a world where vampires are the norm, humans are fair game and the Cullens hope to make a change in the order of things.Enter Bella who unknowingly is the key to change, unity and the saviour of humanity before it becomes less than nothing.


Chapter One

EPOV - Temptation

I was agitated….beyond agitated. The level of noise that was bounding around inside my head was excruciatingly loud and not many of the thoughts I was reading were joyful ones. No, these thoughts belonged to people were here for one purpose and one purpose only. They were members of the production line that would eventually lead to one thing – their sacrifice at the hands of the most powerful predators on our world….vampires. They were bred to sate the needs of a species through the offering of their blood. These particular people knew no differently. They had been born and raised in this area; never knowing the possibility of being other than a meal. It was what they expected and very few of them made any attempt to think that maybe they could change that outcome. It riled me that I had to listen to their mundane thoughts and the touch of fear that edged every single one of them. They seemed to be moving along with their normal lives but always in the back of their mind were the questions; when would it be my turn? Was today a feeding day? Who would be next? Will they keep me as a breeder? Will the end hurt?

"I hope Alice knows what she is doing," I muttered through clenched teeth as I rubbed my forehead to alleviate some of the discomfort of listening to such hopelessness. I wanted to tune them all out but it was not a possibility right now because I needed to hear; I needed to make sure I didn't miss the one Alice foretold of.

"_Have you ever known Alice to be wrong?"_ Jasper's whispered thought came to me loud and clear through his own distress and I mentally berated myself for my selfishness. If this was hard for me, it was ten times worse for Jasper who could actually feel the hopelessness, fear and any other emotion that was coming off of the people who were in our close proximity. He was almost doubled over in his attempts to not allow himself to be overcome with such negative feelings. For him there was also the added stress of knowing what it was to take blood and the fact that there were dozens of people inside who would willingly allow him to drink from them was almost too much for him to take. He was the newest of our clan; only having spent a little under a hundred years with us and he found it difficult not to fall back into old habits when humans were around. I offered my hand on his shoulder as a form of support and he nodded stiffly at me.

"_What are you getting?"_ Emmett asked as he gave out the vibe of being unconcerned whilst still retaining the impression that he was ready to jump as soon as the time came. His gift was so much different to ours and I envied the way he could wait without having to deal with the thoughts or emotions of whoever was around. His strength was what we needed and until then he was almost flippant in his perusal of our surroundings. I knew better than that though. His thoughts told me that he was keenly aware of every little sound he heard and that he was scanning the area for any danger lurking that Alice might not have registered. The three of us were in no doubt on edge. This whole endeavour was putting each of us at risk.

I considered his question and allowed the voices in my head to serenade me with their banal mental considerations; trying to focus on the individual sounds rather than the en masse static noise.

"Nothing apart from the norm. There is only one vampire in there right now and all he is thinking about is which of the humans will meet their end tonight. He's imagining what the blood will feel like sliding down his throat and is almost drunk on the thought only."

Jasper groaned softly and closed his eyes against the sensation of delirium that he could now feel from the lone vampire. I took note of any change in the vampire to let us know if he was registering the presence of us; other vampires, but his concentration was completely and wholly on a small group of woman, which helped us stay hidden. I squeezed Jasper's shoulder once again to remind him who he was and who he had waiting for him at home. Another stilted nod from Jasper and he straightened his back in recognition of my unspoken words. I continued on for Emmett's sake. "The humans are trying to pretend that the vampire is not there and are going about their regular movements. There is nothing in anyone's head about the woman Alice has seen."

_"Do you know the vampire?"_ Emmett spoke through his thoughts. The less we spoke aloud the better, considering how well vampires could hear. I shook my head to let him know that I didn't. That was a little disconcerting but not something to majorly panic about for now. The world was filled with rogue vampires who did not belong to a particular clan but given our task at this particular spot tonight I would have rathered that no vampires were present at all.

"_It's offputting seeing you both with red eyes," _Emmett spoke again through his thoughts and I lifted my eyebrows to register that I fully agreed. Earlier when Carlisle had given us the chemically based liquid that would aide our eyes to turn red so that we could pass any vampires without arousing suspicion, the mirror had shown me an image of myself that I could never ever get used to. My normally golden eyes were a mark of the vampire I had worked hard to be for the many years of my existence. I had never taken the blood from a human and never intended to do so either. So looking at myself with the mark of a blood drinking vampire on me did not sit well at all. Emmett was in the same position as me and on the very few occasions that we'd had to use Carlisle's special concoction we had tried to laugh off the uncomfortableness of it through teasing one another. Jasper's approach was different however; he went into a somber mood of contemplation. The image he saw of himself was reminiscent of one that he had seen over and over again for many centuries of blood lust and warring that he had experienced before he had found Alice. For Jasper making him wear the red eyes was like reminding him that he was a potential failure in this life of ours and that hurt all of us who had to see it.

The thought had no sooner sprung before it was replaced with images that we had been waiting for. "Move," I hissed and the three of us were instantly through the door and taking in the scene before us. A young brown haired woman was trying to stand up amongst a circle of men and women who were looking at her slack jawed and with a whole lot of suspicion.

_Where did she come from? _

_There was nothing there and then suddenly poof, there she was._

_Maybe the vampire will take her rather than one of us tonight._

_Who is she?_

I could both sense and hear the vampire move towards the girl and knowing that she would become his prey I darted with great speed to her side. I was the quickest out of the three of us but as I lifted her squirming body into my arms I noted that Emmett and Jasper were right behind me and were halting the vampire from stepping any closer.

"This one is ours," Emmett hissed at the vampire, puffing himself up to look his most formidable. The unknown vampire shrugged nonchalantly and took another step forward.

"Who says?"

"I do and if you know what's best for you, you would be choosing another meal tonight my friend. This one is meant for us." Emmett's voice held a calm ferocity that made the vampire look between the three of us and then down at the girl who was staring in shock and terror at my face. Reluctantly he took a step backwards and held his hands out in supplication; not a move very often seen when vampires are involved but one that indicated that he was going to give in to our demands because he stood no chance against three of us at once.

"So I can see. Don't let me stop you from having what is yours." He waved airily. "As you can see there is a regular smorgasbord here for my choice. I would prefer to not fight for my food." His politeness attempted to mask his anger and his accusation but I could read his thoughts and I knew that he was questioning why this particular human was important to us. We had sparked his curiosity so that he would not easily forget us; definitely not something we had wanted. He was also wondering why he hadn't noticed the girl before when he had been scouting the place for his dinner.

"Edward, take the girl." Jasper grunted at me. "We will follow shortly."

I didn't second guess his words and hurriedly made my way out of the room so that the humans that had stood gawking wouldn't have even registered my speed other than my sudden disappearance. Within seconds I was hundreds of metres away and I stopped to work out my next move as I waited, with a petrified woman in my arms, for my brothers.

That proved to be the worst mistake of my life because as I came to a screeching standstill I let out the breath I had been holding since entering the human bar and when I inhaled again, like a battering ram, the girl's scent hit me in a way I had never imagined possible. A cloying sweet smell of metal overtook my senses making the air around me so heavy that I felt like I was drowning in a warm tantalising bath of the most delicious elixir.

_I had to have her!_

_I had to have her blood…_

With a precision that only vampires could know, and be able to execute, I ran my thumb nail over the full ripeness of her lips and watched in horrified eagerness as my movement caused the blood to retreat and then come back again in a redness that demonstrated what lay beneath that thin membrane of skin. My throat burnt in an ecstasy of understanding that I was about to succumb to her heady aroma. Her blood was singing to me; telling me that it would have the most exquisite taste; that nothing would ever compare to it; that without it I would surely no longer exist. My glance fell to the pulse in her neck that was now beating in a flutter of fearful anticipation. It would only take milliseconds to move my lips against that calling siren; to puncture her fair skin with my razor sharp teeth and then feed on the most intoxicating liquid ever known to a monster such as myself. I briefly wondered how I had ever thought that I could live on something other than blood. If I had known the potency of a human's blood I would have searched this entire planet to ensure I could get a taste, regardless of my deeply embedded morals and my previously thought belief that humans did not deserve such an end. No human had ever aroused the monster in me the way this girl did; not a single one of them had ever led me to believe that their blood would be something I would willingly take. I suddenly cursed her existence, knowing that I was about to lose my own, the moment I surrendered to her temptation. The others would forgive me my trespass but I would always be aware of what I had done to an innocent and it would haunt me forever; I knew myself well enough to be realistic about that…..

…but still…her blood would be worth it…..more than worth it…..as my lips lowered slowly to prolong the inevitable….to be the monster I abhorred….or to live forever never experiencing the exhilarating delight of feeling

her blood slide down my burning throat and sating me like nothing ever would again?

Her small whimper was what saved her. My eyes flicked up to be met with her own glistening ones. The black flecked deep brown of the creamiest chocolate stared back at me with absolute terror but for a moment I could see beyond that and see into the very depths of her soul. This woman was good. She did not deserve my animalistic need for her. She should not be frightened of the very creature who had been sent to save her. Immediately my natural defences came into play and I forced myself not to inhale or exhale again. The memory of her scent still teased me but without breathing the burn and need was more manageable. My face twisted into a mask of strained concentration, even as I could not pull myself away from her very essence. I was too close; too tempted; too conflicted.

_I was not going to last._

"Edward." I had been so focussed on the girl that he had not even made it on my radar. I dragged my eyes away from her and saw both Emmett and Jasper standing side by side watching me with apprehension. Their thoughts told me that they knew what I had been considering and shame went through my body with a speed that almost buckled my knees. I stumbled towards Emmett and his arms were instantly out to relieve me of the precious cargo I was coveting. I relinquished my hold on her and she slid easily into his embrace. Nothing about his thoughts told me that he was having the same difficulties as I was with her nearness and with that in mind I did the only thing that I could at that time.

I ran.


End file.
